


Angels Cast The Shadows of Demons

by louisianaspell



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Law Enforcement, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternative Universe - FBI, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Character Death, Cop AU, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, FBI Agent Bucky Barnes, FBI Agent Steve Rogers, Law Enforcement Inaccuracies, Mentions of Murder, Reader-Insert, Undercover, non Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-01-16 10:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18519295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/louisianaspell/pseuds/louisianaspell
Summary: After losing an undercover agent, the FBI waste no time in sending in another agent. While undercover Bucky meets a woman that could end up changing his life.





	1. Oh the disdain when tomorrow never came

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, it fills the square B2 (little sister) which will come be used in a later chapter!

Richie paces like a caged animal in the finished basement of his luxurious vacation home. This was not how he envisioned this trip going, he was planning on bringing the man that now lay dead on the floor into the highest ranks of his organization, only to find out last minute that the man was a liar and a traitor. There is no atoning for some sins and Richie enjoyed playing the role of judge and executioner more than he loved money and power.

“This’ll teach ‘em to keep their fucking noses out of my fucking business. I want this piece of shit dumped where his fucking FBI buddies will find him,” Richie ordered as he wiped the blood off his hands while walking away, “and I want this fucking place spotless! I don’t care what it takes or what it costs! Not one trace of that fucking traitor left in this house!” He called over his shoulder.

It was a couple of weeks later when the badly decomposed body of the undercover agent was discovered in the safe house that was used for meetings with his handlers. Agent Tony Stark walked through the house and weaved his way past crime scene techs and other agents, he crouched beside the remains, covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief.

“Who found the body?” He asked his partner, Agent James Rhodes, as he looked down at what used to be one of his friends.

“Some neighborhood kids, claims they were just looking for a hideout or something.”

Both men exchanged looks, each knowing that it was more than likely a set up. A message left for them where the sender wanted to ensure it was received.

“Do we know cause of death yet?”

“No, they don’t wanna say anything for certain without an autopsy but I highly doubt it was natural causes.”

“Are we certain this is Banner?” Tony asks Rhodes.

“Well, it’s not confirmed. I’m sure they’ll try to run his prints or check dental records to be sure, but I mean there’s this,” Agent Rhodes uses a pen to open the FBI badge and credentials cruelly nailed to the victims forehead that belonged to Agent Banner.

“Fuck. Did he give any indication his cover was blown on his last check in?”

“Not that he mentioned. It was the usual check in, he had a few tidbits about possible weapon shipments, but nothing else. You know Bruce, the man was the definition of cautious, if he had any inkling they found him out he’d get out of there.”

Tony shook his head, a six month undercover investigation with really nothing to show for it except a murdered FBI agent and missing informants. He took off his latex gloves and rubbed his eyes, he could feel a migraine starting to build, he knew the briefing with Director Fury and Assistant Director Hill was going to be an absolute shitshow.

As he predicted the briefing was bad as he had thought. Tony swears there’s nothing scarier than Nick Fury pissed off and it wasn’t much better having Maria Hill staring daggers at them. Stark and Rhodes are forced to beg the pair to let them to not only let them stay on and continue the investigation, Bruce deserves justice, but to also send in another agent undercover.

James Rhodes hands the directors several folders with potential candidates for undercover work. Him and Tony watch as the pair flip through their short list of candidates. Tony clears his throat as he begins running through the names.

“Agents Barton and Romanoff have both volunteered for the position, each were close to Bruce.” He watched as Maria was about to object.

“I know, what happened to Bruce makes it personal for them, but as you can see they’re both extremely qualified for the work.”

“Next we have Agent Wilson, a good strong candidate. Has plenty of covert military experience and we know Richie has a habit of using former military vets as muscle, so Wilson is perfect in that respect.” Rhodey explained as the directors flipped through Agent Wilson’s record.

Director Fury tossed all the folders on the table before speaking, “if you two insist on staying on this case, I have two conditions. One, I put in two agents of my own choosing on the team. And two, one of them goes in the field. I’ll have Hill forward you their information.” Fury left the room with Hill close behind.

“Man, I don’t care how long I’ve been here, that man scares the shit out of me. Jesus, he’s intense.” Rhodey said, sinking down into one of the empty chairs.

——

Agent James Barnes was not having a good day. He woke up late, his coffee maker broke and he didn’t have time to run to Starbucks and then he had to sit in traffic for what felt like an eternity and now he was officially late. He hoped he could sneak in without Section Chief Pierce catching him.

His luck turned slightly when he noticed there was a large group of agents walking into the bullpen, James slips in with the group and manages to get to his desk undetected. He breaths out a sigh of relief as he sinks down into his chair, it looks like he hasn’t missed the morning briefing and it seems that his best friend and partner, Agent Steve Rogers, is even later than him. Bucky couldn’t wait to rub it in Steve’s face.

Bucky sees Steve walking into the office carrying two large file boxes with papers stacked on top, he jumps out of chair and quickly makes his way over to help his stubborn friend who didn’t know when to ask for help.

“Mornin’ Buck, nice of you to finally join us.” Steve teased as Bucky took possession of the top box and papers. Bucky shoulder checked Steve as they walked towards their desks.

“So, ya wanna explain the boxes? Or are ya plannin’ on building a fort?”

“Well, if you had been on time this morning, you would know that they’ve been assigned to a task force.” Steve tossed a thick folder into Bucky’s desk, he opened the folder and started flipping through it.

“Holy shit! For real?! They’re putting us on this?!” Bucky exclaimed as he read the basic details of their new assignment. “Do I even wanna know what gross sexual favors you promised Pierce to get this?”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Steve rolled his eyes. “You’ll never guess how we got this.”

“I’m guessing Pierce had nothing to do with it or else Rumlow and his shadow would’ve gotten it. Did you bribe someone, Steven?” Bucky joked.

Steve shook his head, “the assignment came directly from Director Fury.”

“Fury? Damn, I didn’t even know the man knew my name. Wait a minute, why us?”

“No idea, now help me take these boxes to Van Dyne and Lang.”

“Wait, we’re being taken off the Maximoff case?”

“Fury says we start on the task force immediately and all our other cases are being reassigned. Oh, grab the folders too, we’re being briefed on the case after we drop these off.”

__

Bucky sat across the conference table from Steve, each man taking notes as Tony and Rhodey moved about the room and brought them up to speed on their new assignment. If Bucky had to be honest, he was down right giddy that he and Steve got assigned to this case. This was the type of case that can make or break a career and what made him want to be an FBI agent in the first place.

Pictures of different men flashed across the screen as Rhodey went through the hierarchy of the notorious crime family. The two senior agents went through the evidence they had been able to gather so far thanks to the undercover work of Agent Banner. Everyone in the room knew it wasn’t much evidence, at least not enough to arrest and definitely not enough to convict anyone, but it was something. It was a series of strings they could pull on until the whole organization collapsed.

“How did they stay off law enforcement’s radar for so long?” Steve asked as he flipped through the list of crimes possibly committed by the organization. “It looks as if everyone up there has a clean rap sheet.”

“From what we got from our informant, there’s been a change in leadership,” Tony pulled out a photo of an older man from a folder and placed it in the center of the table, “this was the head of the family. Always operated in the shadows, had no problem throwing money around to get business done. He found money to be far more influential than threats of violence.”

Tony pointed to the photo of the man that is now on top of the hierarchy, “Richie took over after his father’s death two year ago and is dead set on making a name for himself, by any means necessary and that mostly means with violence.”

“Which brings us to why the two of you are here.” Tony turns off the monitor, “we need to get another guy in there.”

“So soon? I mean, with what just happened he’s gonna have his guard up, they’ve probably closed ranks already.” Bucky reasoned.

“Believe us when we say that we know. But we cannot just stand by and let a mad man like this continue to operate. Banner deserves justice and so do the countless of other victims of this man.” Rhodey plead their case. “It’s a risky move, but I have the feeling that’s why Fury chose you guys.”

“Would we both be going in?” Steve asked, folding his arms over his chest.

“No, just one of you. The other can give us a fresh pair of eyes on this and help us work it,” Tony gestured to the binders of paperwork and evidence. “Also, we think Rich is gonna keep eyes on me and Rhodey, so whoever decides to stay behind will act as handler and contact for the other.”

“How long?” Bucky asked.

“A few months, maybe more, maybe less. Banner was under for almost six months and this all we were able to get, but you might be able to better evidence in less time. Who knows.” Rhodey shrugged.

“Fury is letting you guys decide on who stays and who goes. I know it’s sudden, but we’ll need an answer before the end of the day, we’ve gotta start building a new cover ASAP.” Tony said gathering his things.

The two senior agents left the room, leaving Steve and Bucky by themselves in the conference room, neither man saying anything but each knowing exactly what the other one would say.

“I’ll do it. I’ll go undercover, you stay here.” Steve said, breaking the silence.

“Like hell you are, punk.” Bucky crumpled up a piece of paper and tossed it at Steve. “Peggy would have my balls if she found out I let you volunteer for a long term undercover assignment.”

“Hey, don’t go bringing my wife into this. Not cool.” Steve tossed the paper back at Bucky.

“You mean your pregnant wife. Don’t forget that little fact, Stevie.” Bucky smiled at Steve, he knew his friend couldn’t argue against that. “Who knows how long this thing could go on, do you really wanna risk missing the birth of your first child?”

Of course Steve didn’t want to risk losing that moment and Bucky knew it. He may not always like being a bachelor, but sometimes it comes in handy when you wanna keep your friend safe.

“That’s what I thought.” Bucky chuckled, “I’ll let Stark and Rhodey know.” He got up out of his seat and walked toward the door, “and I had better be named the baby’s godfather when I get back! I’d like to see Sam top this!” He called over his shoulder.


	2. give me water that could last in a drought

Bucky was right when he said they would close ranks. It had been more than two months since Bucky had gone undercover and he made very little headway in terms of getting inside the organization. All the informants Tony and Rhodey had either met a grizzly end or skipped town when Bruce’s real identity and news of his fate came to light. 

From what Bucky had learned from the latest drug dealer was that anyone who Richie felt had a hand in bringing in a federal agent into his ranks met a very gruesome end. While there is no shortage of members he can order to do his dirty work or assassins he could hire, it seemed to be common knowledge on the street that Richie enjoyed dealing with problems like this personally. 

Bucky feared at this rate he’d be undercover for years and that was the absolute last thing he wanted to happen. He had heard rumors and stories of agents that had gone undercover for long periods of time and would start to lose track of who they really are and buy into their cover story. Or the cautionary tales they tell agents in training about how some people become seduced by the lifestyles of those they were assigned to arrest and want a part of it. As he looked around the shitty rundown apartment that bureau supplied him with, he prayed that he could find a way in sooner rather than later.

A few days later, Bucky is sitting across from Steve in some hole in the wall diner that’s well outside the city limits. Extra precautions were being taken since Bruce’s death; Bucky and Steve never met in the same location more than once and only they two knew time and place. Bucky kept in contact via a phone given to him by Tony, which Bucky kept hidden under a loose floorboard underneath the cheap nightstand by his bed. 

Steve watches as Bucky pours what looks like an entire bottle of syrup on his stack of pancakes, “so anything new? Made any new friends I should know about?”

“Just some extremely low level people,” Bucky reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of scrap paper and slid it over to Steve, “here’s their names of you wanna look into them, but it’s probably best to give it to the local cops, let them get the collar.”

“Can anyone on here get you an in? Ya know move you up the ladder? Maybe in exchange for reduced time or something?” Steve asked before taking a bite of his omelette.

“Man, I wish. The whole thing with Banner has everyone spooked and Richie is out for blood, no one’s sayin’ or doing anything.” Bucky said with a defeated tone. He really thought he would’ve made more headway by now. 

“You’ll get there, Buck.”

Bucky wishes he could believe his partner.

\--  
Richie had once again locked himself in his office, just like he’s done every night for the last several months. He ran his hands through his hair before resting his head on the desk in front of him, on top of a stack of financial documents that he barely understood. His once lavishly decorated office, the room he so carefully put together to impress people, is now a disgusting mess. A metaphor for his life he guesses, surrounded by tainted wealth and garbage. 

He should’ve known better than to trust an outsider since it was the first lesson his father taught him, one that he drilled into Richie’s psyche everyday. Richie was the oldest son, the heir apparent, and his father raised him that way. His father viewed their relationship as master and apprentice, never father and son. While other children his age were being taught how to ride a bike or playing catch, Richie was being taught the best ways to smuggle drugs and other contraband into their largest markets and how to go about blackmailing and bribing officials. He was fully aware he could not blame his father for everything, the monster inside of him that craves blood and chaos, well that’s all Richie, but everything else? Richie chose to blame good ol’ dad for all of that. 

He is on the verge of the sweet slumber that’s been eluding him for days when you burst through the door. “Just my fucking luck,” he mumbles to himself while watching you step over piles of trash trying your best not to ruin your expensive shoes.

“Jesus, Richmond. This place is a goddamn disaster. Haven’t you ever heard of a trash can?” You ask, kicking empty take out containers and liquor bottles out of your way.

“What the fuck are you doing in here? I told them I didn’t want to be bothered.”

“And since when do I give a fuck about what you say? I’m not one of your little minions waiting to be ordered around,” you said brushing some garbage off an empty chair. You suddenly wish you weren’t wearing your custom Chanel outfit as you sat down, praying the filth didn’t stain your clothes or ruin your shoes.

“Y/N, I am not in the mood. I’m gonna ask you one last time, what the fuck do you want?” Richie looks up at you, you can see the anger starting to boil. It was always fun to annoy him and let someone else deal with the consequences.

“Well, your...what do you call them again? Right, your generals.” You rolled your eyes, “anyway, apparently they’re worried enough to send me in to reason with you.”

“They’re worried about me, so they sent you?” Richie looked at you with a look of distrust on his face. “Out of all the people on this god forsaken planet, they sent you?”

You just shrug your shoulders in response, “personally, I don’t give a shit if you rot away in this tacky garbage dump you call an office or in jail, in fact it’s probably better for me if you did. But here I am trying to be a good sister and tell you to pull your head out of your ass and handle business, because all of this,” you gesture to the state of your surroundings, “is making the family look weak. So, unless you want someone overthrowing you, man the fuck up.”

Richie has no smart comeback as he watches you leave his office, he can feel the anger bubbling up inside of him. This was his birthright, what he sacrificed his childhood for, and the only thing that his father left him. If anyone wanted to take control of his empire, they were going to have to pry from his cold dead hands.

—

They had been summoned to Director Fury’s office, all three men knew it wasn’t because Fury wanted to have a tea party. Tony had been waiting for this day since they sent Barnes in undercover several months ago, it was a topic that him and Rhodey talked about at great length and had caused a few fights for the long time friends. They feared that this was the day that Fury either pulled them off the case or shut down the investigation entirely. Now they all sat in a stuffy office waiting room nervously awaiting the fate of their investigation.

Steve sat quietly on one of the couches outside Fury’s office, he tried to hide his nerves by flipping through an old outdated FBI issued magazine with Nick Fury on the cover. Out of the corner of his eye, he watches Tony nervously fiddle with various decorations around the room and Rhodey set down the files he brought with him and tried his best to stop Tony from destroying things that belonged to Director Fury.

The telephone on the desk of Fury’s assistant rang, they watched as the older woman answered the phone had the briefest of conversations before hanging up and letting the group know that Director Fury would see them now. They’re ushered into Fury’s office and all three immediately making their way over to the conference table in his office, Tony and Rhodey sitting next to one another, Steve sitting across from them and at the head of the table sat Director Fury. 

“So, I see from the latest report that Barnes still has yet to make contact with anyone of significance, he’s still only giving us street level drug dealers.” Fury said, keeping his eyes on the report in front of him.

“That’s correct, sir. According to Agent Barnes, with everything that’s happened he can’t find a way into the higher levels of the organization.” Steve replied.

“We’ve been trying to find a new informant, but we haven’t been able to turn anyone just yet.” Rhodey added.

“We knew going in that it was going to take time, we just have to be patient.” Tony said.

Fury looked up from the report at Tony, “Stark, you do realize that there are other operations and cases that actually producing results that could use the funds that I’m spending on you guys.”

Here it comes, the axe was about to fall. Each man couldn’t help but feel like they had failed not only Bruce’s family but the families of those hurt by Richie and his empire.

Fury let out a sigh before tossing the folder onto the conference table, “you guys are probably the luckiest sons of bitches,” he pulls out a usb flash drive of his pocket and slides towards the three men. “I was approached by someone who is willing to help, on that drive are names and instructions on how Barnes can get into the inner circle, as well as information that could help connect some dots that may help your RICO charges.”

“Who is the informant?”

“How do we know they can be trusted?”

“What if it’s just a setup?”

The three agents all asked at once. Fury said nothing for a moment letting the three men wait in the edges of their seats.

“For now, their identity is only known to myself and U.S. attorney Rambeau. Together, we have verified the information.”

“With all due respect, sir, you can’t expect us to send us in Barnes based on information from an unknown CI.” Rhodes tried to argue 

“Considering what’s happened to the informants that helped Agent Banner, that’s exactly what I’m expecting. I don’t think you guys are looking at the bigger picture, this CI has intimate knowledge of the organization and is willing to help us bring it down.”

—

It took a few days for Steve to arrange another meeting with Bucky, this one far more rushed than their usual planned meetings. The best they could do on such short notice was a coffee shop not too far from Bucky’s apartment. The two friends sat next to each sipping their respective drinks while trying to act like they didn’t know each other.

“So I come bearing good news,” Steve says before drinking his coffee.

“Oh thank god, I’ve spent the last week surrounded by meth heads so I need a good palate cleanser.”

“Someone came forward and gave us an in for you.”

Bucky wants to jump for joy, Steve’s just pointed him towards the light at the end of the tunnel. 

—

One of the perks of never perceived as any sort of threat is that you are able to plant seeds in the minds of Richmond and others. Voicing concern for Richmond’s well-being to a servant that is known to gossip, whispers of law enforcement closing in on the, telling Richmond that those closest to him questioned his authority. It is probably one of the easiest things you’ve ever done as you slowly and carefully work to cultivate their distrust in one another. 

You watched and listened from your poolside lounge chair as Richmond screamed at his underlings for some reason that you really didn’t care about. The more unhinged he acted, the better it would be for you in the long run, men could only stay loyal to a mad man for so long before they jump ship. You smirk as you put your sunglasses on and bathed in the heat of the summer sun.


End file.
